OFI 1915: A Vision Of Full-Time Farming | FFA SAE Edition | Kendra Downing | Cambridge High School FFA

Kendra Downing is a 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Ag Sales – Entrepreneurship. Growing up as the 4th generation on her families farm she, her sister and her parents were sitting on the front porch one day contemplating what enterprise the kids could start to generate revenue. The idea of a pumpkin patch was proposed, and it was decided to purse that endeavor. That was the beginning of the Downing Daughters Pumpkin Patch.

Over time, Kendra and her sister have grown this enterprise to include a corn maze, which started out under an acre and is now 5 acres, all designed by hand with no technological assistance. In addition to this, they started purchasing products from other farmers in the area to sell in a farm stand that they operate out of an old barn on their grandmother’s property.

This all has evolved into a national proficiency award today, but its beginnings were Kendra’s FFA Advisor looking at what she was doing and telling her that she was going enter the competition. The rest, as they say, is history. Kendra is now in college, studying everything she can get her hands on in the hopes of one day farming full-time with even more, direct to consumer enterprises to share with her community.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Ag Sales – Entrepreneurship

HIGH SCHOOL: Cambridge High School, Cambridge Illinois

MASCOT: Vikings

FFA ADVISOR: Trent Taber

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR KENDRA DOWNING:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Cambridge High School Website:

Kendra’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: ttaber@district227.org

Cambridge High School Telephone Number: 309-937-2051

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE’s)

Support FFA

Donate to FFA – FFA students can start small businesses through an FFA grant of $1,000. In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants. With your donations, more students can get this head start – pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% and the rest of the world. FFA provides the needed education, training, and resources to Americans to carry that torch forward and ensure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
Farmers, ranchers, and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the food search is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue